RAISING WITH RESPECT

I didn’t trust myself to know how to care for this small person. I didn’t trust my child to be capable of soothing herself and exploring her world. I didn’t trust that nature had a plan. That we humans are made to move, communicate, learn, and cope without devices.

I don’t panic anymore because I know that when children are testing limits they aren’t out to get me. They aren’t searching for my weaknesses, they’re searching for their boundaries. I can be calm because I don’t feel I have to fix every emotional outburst or stop every cry. I can accept their emotions and support them in whatever way I can. I am at peace because I know I will make mistakes and that my children will be okay — not only that but it gives me a chance to model for them how to apologize or make amends. I have time to take care of things in my life, because my children can play on their own and be quite happy.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. There is so much fun stuff for our little ones todo, but all the scary stuff can be too much for them. Here are a few quick tips that might help make Halloween fun for your little ghosts and goblins.

We finally finished the remodel at the Tot Center at Kirk o' the Valley; new floors, painted walls, everything is clean and fresh. So we will be starting up with our parent/infant classes again. There is still room in both the toddler and the infant class. If you or someone you know is interested in joining a parent/infant class please come check us out this Saturday, July 15th, 2015. All classes are FREE this Saturday.

In a few weeks I will be sending my third child to kindergarten. I have what I expect is a pretty common reaction. "How can this be happening so soon?" This first day of school is full of both anxiety and excitement, -- both for me and my child. Having been through this twice before, and with many of the lessons I've learned by studying RIE for all these years in mind, here is my plan and my advice, if you’re child is starting Kindergarten or pre-school this year.

I had a little Jack in the Box. A child who gets out of bed every two minutes. This is challenging and helping children find their way to good sleep habits can be frustrating, but hopefully these pointers can help. You may very well find that an extra 30 minutes of calm conviction, on occasion, may help build a foundation of healthy sleep habits that could last a lifetime.

If I am always rushing to solve my toddler’s problems, then when do I decide to stop solving problems for her? When do I change the rules and tell her it’s time to start developing her own problem solving skills? I’d rather her start develop her problem-solving skills right away -- and for her to gain the self-confidence that results from overcoming her challenges. If I knew I could fix my children’s problems their whole lives long, I probably would. But since I can’t, I let my toddler struggle. I’m there for her, not to solve her problems, but to watch and support her failures, and her triumphs.

Summer IS coming. And what do you do with the kids out of school for two and a half months? I’m giving this a lot of thought since my kids are out of school in less than two weeks and I will be home with all four of them for the summer. Here’s what I’ve got:

A guest post by David Snell tells the story about how he went from battling against his daughter to working together with her. If you are having trouble brushing your toddler's teeth, clipping nails, or any other care activity this post might just be able to help.

Big emotions are a regular occurrence for small children. How we respond to these daily, if not hourly, occurrences have a great affect on how the child experiences their emotions, understands and trusts his parents or caregiver’s reactions to them, and develops an understand if his or her emotional self.

Infant specialist Magda Gerber used to say, “What children get they come to expect and eventually need.” Many of the problems parents ask me about have to do with habits that their children have acquired that the parents find undesirable, even if at one time they supported these habits and maybe even created them.

What do you think of when you think about Discipline? What if we thought of discipline like this? Discipline is instruction or the sharing of knowledge. We are the leaders and our children are the students or followers. We would be working together rather than feeling like Us vs. Them.

I have probably changed more than 20,000 diapers in the last ten years. I’m not claiming that’s any record, but I think it’s enough to say I am, at the least, experienced. I have some thoughts about diapering that might help to change it from an unpleasant task to -- believe it or not -- a very lovely time spent with your child.

Discipline: Boundaries Without Punishment, Limits With Respect

The more a child chooses to share on their own, the more they will experience the self satisfaction that comes with it, and in turn will choose to do it more, allowing the child to develop into a genuinely selfless and kind person.

@RAISINGWRESPECT

Even the youngest babies are curious explorers of their new and wondrous world. Parent/infant classes are designed to start the baby off with a safe environment where they are free to explore to their hearts’ content. They are joined with other children in their same developmental range and allowed to interact freely with one another. Read More >>

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The above opinions are those of Melanie Snell and are not necessarily shared by RIE or Kirk o'the Valley.